


a band of 'thieves' (in ripped up jeans)

by chants_de_lune



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Crack, Healing, Hilarity Ensues, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Mischief, Protective Robb Stark, Texting, The Starks Ruin Joffrey's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 17:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20855273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chants_de_lune/pseuds/chants_de_lune
Summary: Margaery dumped Joffrey once and for all, but he held her stuff hostage at his house, demanding that she went over to talk to him.Well, the Stark siblings weren't going to let that shit fly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _inspired by a very old Internet story





	a band of 'thieves' (in ripped up jeans)

**Author's Note:**

> fic inspired by this story:  
https://breelandwalker.tumblr.com/post/125045641619/rosslynpaladin-throwtime-throwtime-im

Margaery didn’t like crying in front of people.But when Sansa opened the door and beckoned her in with understanding eyes and a soft embrace, her composure broke like a dam; small at first, then all at once. 

“Come, sit down,”Sansa patted Margaery’s back and guided her to the living room.“I’ll make you a cup of tea, unless you want me to sneak into Father’s study for a bit of whiskey.” 

Margaery managed to laugh.“Tea’s just fine, thank you.”

When Sansa hurried to the kitchen, Margaery leaned back against the couch, distracting herself from her woes by surveying the Starks’ living room.It was nowhere near as fancy as her grandmother’s parlor, but there was a homely warmth to it that the Tyrells’ haute interior lacked.

Catelyn’s hand-knitted blankets on every chair.A pile of firewood by the hearth, chopped and stacked by the boys.The sparse strands of fur in the carpet from one of their pets disobeying Ned’s rules. Photos galore on every surface. 

The house was nicknamed “the Den” and given its familial vibe, rightly so. 

She peered closer at the picture frame on the end table.It was Sansa and her older brother Robb sitting on their front porch, arms around each of their massive malamutes.Margaery smiled, wiping her face with her sleeve.Perhaps it was simply her heightened state of emotion, but it dawned on her how truly handsome Robb Stark really was. 

She recalled the last time they had hung out,before the mess she had landed herself in. It had been mini-golf at a group outing.Her putts had gone awry, and amidst everyone else’s teasing, he was messing up as well, then encouraging her, sometimes putting his hand on the small of her back—

Sansa interrupted Margaery’s daydreams by reentering the living room with a laden tray.She set it down on the table and Margaery sniffled at the hospitality; a kettle covered in a cute, pink cozy, cream, sugar, and a plate of dainty lemon cakes. 

“My mother’s chamomile blend has never failed,”Sansa reassured her, “You talk, and I’ll pour.” 

Margaery sighed, wiping her cheeks again.“It’s over, between me and Joffrey.I told him that.”

“Oh, thank heavens.”

“I know, I know, it took me too long,” she grimaced, “but oh, my family thought it was marvelous that we were together, and he had kind moments every now and then, and I was always afraid, afraid that he’d—“

“Marge, I understand,” Sansa cut her off gently, pressing the cup into her hand.“So why did you sound so frustrated over the phone? I couldn’t make out what you were saying.”

Margaery took a long sip, letting the porcelain warm her clammy hands. “Because I broke up with him in the middle of a fight.I went to his house and there he was, hands up another girl’s shirt.So a few of my things are over there, and I can’t get them back.Joffrey is holding them hostage until I go over and talk to him.”She put the cup back on its saucer and rubbed her temples. 

“I can’t, Sansa, I can’t go back—“

“You won’t,” Sansa said firmly.“Here, have a lemon cake.”She pushed the plate forward.

“But they’re your favorite—“

“I insist,”her smile was beseeching, so Margaery relented.The sugar and sourness paired well with the herbs in the tea. 

“Oh, what am I going to do?”

“Well, you can sleep over tonight. Mum won’t mind, she likes having company.” 

“Thank you.Where is your family anyway?” Margaery looked around at the abnormally quiet house. 

“Father’s working, Mum’s at the shops,Arya’s still in her fencing class, and the boys took the dogs to the park,”Sansa ticked off her fingers. 

“Goodness, I thought my family was hectic,” Margaery commented, reaching back for her tea.

“The dogs really double the household,” said Sansa between lemony bites. “I don’t know how Robb ever convinced our parents to get one, let alone six.” 

Margaery smiled. “Your brother seems like a great fellow.”Her voice came out softer than intended.She looked up and caught Sansa’s curious look. 

“He is,” Sansa stirred sugar into her second cup,“And I think he’s doing well, given that Frey girl’s finally stopped texting him.” 

“Oh, I wasn’t aware they’d stopped seeing each other,” said Margaery coolly. Sansa tried to hide a smile behind a lemon cake.

“Almost two months now, I think,”she brushed the crumbs off her hoodie, “Anyways, I’d love it if you could sleep over tonight.We’ll have a Den party.”

“I don’t have an overnight bag with me.” 

“Your place is only fifteen minutes away, we could drive there.” 

Margaery had a sudden, alarming thought.“What if Joffrey’s changed his mind and decided to stakeout my mailbox?” 

“Then we turn right back around and you can borrow a pair of my pajamas,”Sansa clasped her hand tightly.“Though you’d probably have to cuff them once or twice.” 

Margaery stood up, unable to resist pulling Sansa in for another hug.In the two years they’ve been friends, ever since Sansa was a freshman following her around like a duckling, she’d never known someone so sweet and loyal.Two years of tuning in to the topsy-turvy nature of the Stark family. 

_(Two years of ignoring how its eldest son made her heart stutter.)_

____________________

She drove them back to her grandmother’s house.Joffrey’s gaudy Mercedes was nowhere in sight.As Margaery ducked in for a change of clothes, Sansa waited in the passenger seat.

Tapping her phone’s passcode, she began to scheme.

**Sansa Stark added 4 people to the chat**

**Sansa Stark named the chat “Knights of the Vale”**

**Sansa**:Boys, I have a job for you

**Robb**: What is this

**Jon**:I don’t get the name.None of us are going to Vale.

**Robb**:We’re not dressing up to act out one of your novels.

**Sansa**:That is not what this is. 

**Sansa:**Are you two still at the park?

**Robb**:Leaving in five minutes with about 500 pounds of fur asleep in the back.Jory’s driving.

**Jon**:What is this job?

**Theon**:What is this job and are we getting paid?

**Sansa**:Not getting paid, but it is a good cause.

**Sansa**: And if you’re successful, there might be some bragging rights at stake.

**Robb**:???

**Sansa:**You all know my friend Margaery

**Jon**: yeah

**Robb**:of COURSE we know Margaery

**Theon**:Isn’t she dating Joffrey?

**Sansa**:She was, until she caught him cheating on her. 

**Jon**: What a dirty little sod.

**Robb**:Mangy bastard.

**Theon**:Fucking prick! 

**Sansa**:Yes, we can all sit around and insult him later, but right now he’s holding some of her stuff hostage at his house, and he won’t give it back unless she talks to him.

**Robb**:What the fuck???

**Jon**: What a rat. 

**Sansa**:Lads she came to the house in tears… I honestly think she was lucky getting out, she could get hurt going back there

**Theon:**Sansa….What do you want us to do? 

**Sansa**:Go over there and get her stuff. 

**Sansa**:You’re all bigger than him.

**Theon**: ….. BARELY

**Jon**:Sansa, he’d call the cops on us

**Sansa:**I know for a fact that everyone at the station HATES him and his mother. 

**Sansa:**Besides, we would make a claim that he has stolen possessions.

**Sansa**: It’s not thieving if they don’t belong to him. 

**Robb**:You really want us to do this?

**Sansa**:A young woman is in distress and JOFFREY ‘BARATHEON’ is to blame. 

**Robb**: Wow….using the two strongest Stark persuasion tactics

**Robb**: Our inherent sense of chivalry and our unequivocal hatred of the Lannisters.

**Jon**:It’s pretty effective, not gonna lie.

**Theon**: It really is.

**Robb**:Alright, we’ll go talk to him.No promises though.

**Sansa**:Wait a minute, where’s Gendry…I added him to this.

**Jon**:Probably getting out of work and picking up Arya from fencing. 

**Gendry**:Whoa, what’s going on

**Sansa**: Let’s give him a minute

**Gendry**:oh

**Gendry**:OH

**Gendry**:This sounds reckless

**Sansa**:Are you in?

**Gendry**:Let me ask Arya

… 

**Gendry**:She wants in

**Gendry Waters added Arya Stark to the chat**

**Arya**: Are we finally ganging up on the bastard

**Arya:**I’ve been waiting years for this

**Jon**:Arya, you’re 14

**Arya**: YEARS

**Sansa**:Arya, as much as Joffrey deserves a broken nose, I don’t want to get Father dragged into a mess. 

**Arya**: fine

**Sansa**:I know you don’t like Margaery, but I want you specifically to look for any clothes she might have left there, since they might make the boys squeamish. 

**Robb**:for fuck’s sake, Sansa, the sight of lace isn’t going to make me faint.

**Arya**: wait… she stays over at his house?

**Robb**: can we not continue this tangent

**Sansa**:Yes, his parents are never home and her grandmother isn’t as strict as Mum.

**Arya:**Wow… while I do hate Joffrey, I’m kinda jealous that she gets to stay over at a boy’s house.

**Robb**:You are FOURTEEN YEARS OLD

**Arya**:I DON’T NEED TO BE REMINDED, THANK YOU!

**Gendry**:Can we PLEASE get back to the plan?

**Theon**: ^^^ Seconded

**Sansa**:Yes. Alright, I’ll be with Margaery for the rest of the day.We went to her house and her grandmother gave her a list of errands to run. 

**Jon**: We just got back from the dog park.Bran and Rickon ran upstairs to play video games. 

**Robb**:I told Mum that you’re out with a friend. 

**Sansa**:Thanks.Marge is gonna stay here tonight so we can definitely surprise her later

**Robb**: IF we can pull this off

**Jon**:Oh shit we’re doing this today?

**Sansa:** You all don’t have practice, so….

**Theon**: But TODAY??

**Sansa**:Oh I’m sorry, do you have plans Greyjoy?

**Theon**: ….No.This group chat represents about 60% of my social life. 

**Theon**: sad tbh

**Sansa**:Oh hush, we love you

**Gendry**:I have a few empty boxes in the back of my truck.Should be enough for whatever she left at his place.

**Sansa**: Excellent!!!

**Theon**: Can someone with creativity change the gc name, I feel like it doesn’t fit the plan. 

**Theon**: besides with Arya added,we’re not all knights anymore lmao

**Gendry**:oh shut up Theon

**Jon**:Theon go fuck yourself

**Arya**:Shove it Theon, but yes I agree that we need something spicier.

**Arya Stark changed the name to “busting Joffrey’s kneecaps today”**

**Jon:** Arya we are TRYING to keep you out of juvie

**Sansa Stark changed the name to “Lannisters can choke”**

**Sansa**: there

**Sansa**: similar sentiment but less suspicious

**Arya**: I’ll allow it

…

**Arya**:Hot Pie just texted me.Apparently Joffrey’s throwing a big party tomorrow night because his mother and uncle are out of the country.

**Theon**: Well I guess tonight’s an opportune time then

**Theon**: I’ll be at the Den in 10 minutes.

**Arya**:Gendry and I are about five away

**Sansa**: Then it’s a go

**Robb**:Will you be joining us?

**Sansa**:No, I’m going to buy Margaery some gelato, then I’m taking her home for a girls’ evening

**Sansa**: I’ll have my phone on me for check-ins, but I trust all of you with this mission.

**Robb**: Oh but no pressure, right?

**Jon**: Keep in mind… it may not work.

**Sansa**:I have faith that it will. 

**Robb**: Right, Gendry and Arya are in the driveway.Let’s go.

**Sansa**:May the old gods be with you

Sansa turned off her phone, relieved that Margaery had been too preoccupied with driving and her errands to notice the texting. 

“Sansa, you’ve been so kind to tag along with me on this tedious outing,” Margaery said earnestly. 

“Of course,”Sansa nudged her towards the food court.“C’mon, let’s get a treat to reward ourselves.”

As they waited in line, Sansa rocked back and forth on her heels, a pendulum in motion, feeling as if she had just assembled a clock and heard it start ticking. 

_________________

Robb pulled out of the Den’s driveway, Jon in the passenger seat and Arya crammed in the middle of the backseat between Theon and Gendry.

“Just what I wanted to do on the one Friday night we didn’t have a game or practice,” commented Jon.“Going to the richest house in town and asking the prat who owns it to let us in.” 

‘We’re doing a good thing,” said Robb.It wasn’t the first time that Sansa had roped him into mischief like this.Given how often she had covered for him, Jon, and Theon however, he felt it was only fair to give it a shot. 

“Uh huh,” Jon tilted his seat back, despite Theon’s yelp of protest.“And would you have gone along so easily—“

“I didn’t go along ‘easily’—“ 

“— If it wasn’t _Margaery_ we were helping?” 

“_Yes_,” Robb rolled his eyes. 

“Liar,” muttered Jon. 

“I’m NOT—“

“Just admit that you have feelings for her, not that difficult.”

“She’s pretty, very, _very_ pretty, but—“

“BOYS!” Arya leaned forward from the back.“We can tease Robb later, but he’ll miss the turn for Casterly Road if you don’t shut up.”

They pulled up two houses away from the Lannisters’, concealed from sight by an oddly overgrown bush. 

“Right,” said Robb quietly, turning off the car.Sansa may have picked his team, but she had left the strategy to him.“Theon, you go first and ring the doorbell.”

“Why me?” 

“Because you’re the least intimidating, we don’t want to make him angry, not while we have the element of surprise.” 

Theon opened his mouth.“Are you saying I’m less intimidating than Ary-“ his complaint died in his throat when he saw the unblinking expression on her face.“No, you’re right.”

“Glad we’re in agreement,” said Arya, smiling. It didn’t make her any less chilling.Theon turned back to Robb.

“So if he lets me in, by some miracle?” 

“Then you go inside, unlock the side door when his back is turned and text us.” 

“Right,” Theon’s jaw ticked, but he unbuckled his seatbelt and left the car.No one said anything, a rare silence for a car with more than one Stark within it.A couple minutes later, Robb saw him jogging back. 

“No luck?”

Theon shook his head. “Laughed and slammed the door in my face.”

“Right.”Robb put the keys in his pocket.“Everyone out.Gendry, grab a box for everyone.” 

“Are we going to rough him up?” Arya asked as soon as she bounded out of the car, bouncing on her toes. 

“We are NOT roughing him up,”Robb said firmly. “But it’ll be harder for him to ignore all of us.”

The Lannister front lawn was rather immense. They passed by Joffrey’s hideous car — Arya spit on it without hesitation, earning a soft but reprimanding thump on the head from Jon.Robb remembered Sansa saying that Margaery had been in tears when she came to the Den, and he resisted the urge to take out his keys and leave a scratch on the paint.He settled for kicking one of the tires. 

They walked up the cobblestones to the Lannisters’ front door, unable to tell if Joffrey was watching their arrival.Jon reached for the doorbell, but Robb shook his head.Curling his hand into a fist,Robb knocked so hard that the door shook on its hinges. 

“Arya …. Arya get down!” he heard Jon hiss.Robb twisted to see his littlest sister already six feet up on a sturdy trellis smothered in ivy. 

“There’s a balcony over the front door!” she whisper-yelled.“I’ll bet you a brownie that the door's unlocked!”

“Gods Arya, you and Bran,” Robb sighed.He went to knock on the door again, but it opened.Joffrey’s eyes almost popped at the sight of a pack on his front step, but then he quickly sneered. 

“Brought all your big friends, Greyjoy?Is this supposed to scare me?”

“We’re here because you’re hoarding your ex-girlfriend’s belongings,” said Robb, Northern accent rumbling thickly through every word.Something irritating about Joffrey’s posh drawl tended to bring it out. 

Joffrey tried to shut the door, but Robb, at the risk of broken knuckles, grabbed the doorjamb and wedged his foot in before it fully closed. 

“They’re going nowhere, because she isn’t my ex and we’re going to talk it out.”

“No you’re not,”Robb gritted his teeth.Joffrey narrowed his eyes.

“I will break your damn leg on this door, Stark.” 

“Let us in or bring her things outside,” Robb’s voice went low.“Because she doesn’t want to see you.”

“She sent you, didn’t she?She’s mad at me for getting caught but gods know what she’s been doing with _you_.” 

Robb clenched both his hands into fists.“She doesn’t. know. we’re here.”

“Oh so she told Sansa, I’m guessing. You came here cause of your whiny bitch of a sister.”

The whole group behind him tensed in unison.Robb snarled, ready to throw his entire weight into the door and tackle Joffrey, but a high-pitched shout caught their attention.

_“OI JOFFREY! YOU BLOND BASTARD! COME OUT HERE!”_

Joffrey’s jaw dropped, and he crossed the threshold, pushing past Robb.Jogging off the front step, he craned his head to look at the balcony. 

Arya was hanging upside down, her knees locked on the railing, flipping him off with both hands.Joffrey nearly turned purple.

“STARK, I DON’T CARE IF YOUR FATHER IS THE CHIEF OF POLICE, GET YOUR LITTLE _MENACE_ OFF MY —“ 

“Going to call the coppers on us, little Lannister?”Jon called out, standing on the front step with his arms crossed on his chest.Theon and Gendry had already joined Robb at the front door while Joffrey had been shouting at Arya.“I think you left your phone inside.”

Joffrey started sputtering.Robb raised an eyebrow.

“It’d be in your best interest to let us collect Margaery’s things.And if I don’t fetch my little sister, she could hide in that big house of yours, smother you in your sleep,” he said, completely deadpan. 

Joffrey stared, trying to judge the level of truth in the threat.His hands balled into fists, but he sighed, dropping his head defeatedly.

“Right then,” Robb looked to Jon and Gendry, “Keep him on the lower level, I don’t need him interrupting me.”He picked up a few boxes.Theon turned to him.

“And what should I do?”Robb handed him a box.

“I’ll leave you to your own devices.”

As they stepped on the grand spiral staircase,they both saw Jon and Gendry walking through the living room with Joffrey on their heels. 

“Hey Gendry,” said Jon.“Didn’t we hear that a party was going to happen here tomorrow night?”

“I think we did, Jon.”

“Do you mind giving me a hand with moving that table?” 

Robb grinned as they took the two ends of the Lannisters’ very heavy, very expensive coffee table and flipped it over completely.Joffrey appeared quite flustered. 

“You cannot vandalize my home!”

“We’re not gonna break anything,”said Gendry, gently laying a lamp on its side.“We’re just rearranging.”

“You could make a call,” said Jon, taking a picture frame off the wall.“Or, we could keep your party a secret to ourselves,” he shrugged at Joffrey, “so I guess you’re just gonna sit there, mate.” 

Robb jogged up the stairs, splitting off from Theon.He found Joffrey’s bedroom with ease since Arya had propped the door open. 

“Took you long enough,” she said.He tossed her a box, noticing several of Joffrey’s nicest clothes thrown haphazardly onto the floor. 

“What if you had fallen? Mum would’ve lost her mind.”

“Jon, Theon, and Gendry were all underneath me,” she countered. “One of them would’ve been able to catch me.”

Robb huffed. “We are NOT telling Mum you did that, or Father.”

Arya took one of the boxes and pointed towards the en suite bathroom.“I think some of her stuff is in there.”Robb turned the bathroom light on, cursing the obscene luxury.As someone who shared two bathrooms with four siblings, it made him fume. 

He opened the shower and found a rose-scented body wash.He uncapped it and inhaled.The scent was definitely Margaery’s, and it made his head feel fuzzy.He put it in the box and took the pink razor which he doubted was Joffrey’s. 

“Hey Robb,” Arya called out.He peered back into the bedroom, and she gleefully held up a burgundy bralette.“You said you could handle a little lace, right?” 

Robb felt his cheeks go red. “Shove off,” he muttered.He tried not to let his imagination conjure up Margaery wearing that, and was quickly distracted by the jealousy of realizing Joffrey _had_ seen Margaery in that, and in the shower most likely.

He went back into the bathroom and opened the drawers.An antiperspirant which looked similar to the brand Sansa used — so he figured it was Margaery’s.A small makeup bag which was clearly hers.There was a small clatter when he lifted the bag.Hidden beneath it was a small palette of pigments.Robb furrowed his brows — green, yellow, and orange seemed too much like costume cosmetics for her to use regularly. Then he spotted the label “color corrector.” 

“Hey Arya,” he called out. “What would a girl , — or anyone, really, I guess — use color corrector for?”

“Rashes or bruises, usually,”said Arya, crawling out from underneath the bed with four hairbands on her wrist.“Sansa had to use some when Harry Hardyng gave her that hickey at winter formal.”

Robb made a face, then looked back at the palette, seeing it about halfway used. “Does Joffrey strike you as the type to … leave hickeys?”

Arya frowned.“No, actually.I walked past the locker room while he was leaving it once, and he was complaining about how ugly they look when they aren’t covered up.”

Robb clenched his jaw, his brain putting together pieces which weren’t quite a full picture.He searched the bathroom for the last few items.A package of pads were the last thing he put in his box.He doubted the Lannisters had a use for them, though Theon would probably disagree.

“Robb, come look!”Arya was lying at the foot of the bed, staring downward.“I accidentally dropped her sketchbook and it flipped open to this page.Isn’t that Grey Wind?”

Robb’s brows shot up as he lifted the book.It was unmistakably Grey Wind, and a good sketch at that. Her reference photo must have been a picture that he had added to his facebook page. 

“Maybe she’s sketched you!”Arya swiped for the book, but Robb held it over his head.

“No, we are not snooping,” he said, dropping it into the box before she could jump on his arm. 

When he went downstairs, the living room was a disheveled yet unbroken mess.Picture frames were either taken off the wall or hung upside down.Jon was casually flipping through one of Cersei’s Cosmo magazines.Gendry was sitting on a couch cushion thrown to the floor, his shoes propped up on another cushion. 

Joffrey leaned against the door, his face downcast.

“Looks good down here, lads,”Robb said amiably.Gendry looked up, a book in his hands. 

“Found this romance novel with Marge’s handwriting on the inside.”He tossed it to Robb.“Fellow on the cover looks like you.”

Robb scoffed, but the handsome man depicted underneath the title _A Northern Passion _certainly did have coppery curls and piercing blue eyes. The fur ruff on his armor wasn’t helping the counterargument either. 

“A coincidence, I’m sure,” he rolled his eyes and dropped the book in Gendry’s box as he strode past him.Jon and Gendry exchanged a look, with Theon choosing that particular moment to walk out of the bathroom. 

“Everyone good to go?” asked Robb.His group nodded.Arya bounded down the stairs. 

“If we missed anything, I don’t mind coming back,” she said, sticking out her tongue. 

Robb put his hand on the back of her head and gave her a small push towards the door.Joffrey glowered at him.Robb put the car keys atop his box and handed it to Jon, his gaze unwavering. When the others had filed out, he walked slowly to the door. 

Joffrey followed him. “You like playing the hero,” his sneer was cold, “But you’ve just made things worse for her.When I see Margaery again—“

Robb brought his forearm up to Joffrey’s throat and pinned him into the wall, hard enough for his head to make a ‘thump’ on contact. 

“Margaery’s a sweet girl, and you’re not going to do anything to her, ever again,” Robb’s breath came short, voice snarled with anger.He kept his arm pressed to Joffrey’s neck, tension slight but unfaltering.“Our business is done today, but if you dare… I’ll be back.And if you think the worst I can do is a few toppled chairs, then you better _run_, little Lannister.” 

His words must have been more of a growl than he intended, for Joffrey’s face blanched to a paper-pale shade. 

“Okay, okay,” he rasped.“I won’t talk or go near her, I promise.”

“Better not fancy the thought,” Robb said darkly, dropping his arm.Joffrey let out a wheeze, clutching his throat theatrically.

Robb jogged down the path in the front yard, grateful that Jon had pulled the car forward.“We’re done,” he said, slamming the passenger door.“Let’s go home.”

“Did you threaten him?” Arya leaned forward.

“Arya, get down.”

“You did, didn’t you? Without me!?”

“Arya, put your seat belt on,”Jon called out as he did a U-turn.

Gendry pulled Arya back, and she buckled herself in with a scowl.But out the window over Gendry’s shoulder, she saw Joffrey watching them leave, one hand massaging his Adam’s apple. She smiled for the rest of the ride. 

“So…” Jon reached a red light, his tone casual as if discussing the weather.“What did you say to him?”

Robb sighed, shaking his head.“Just drive, I’ll tell you later.” He pulled out his phone and messaged Sansa directly.

**Robb**: Mission accomplished.On our way back now.

**Sansa**:Yes! Perfect timing, we’ll be ready to start a movie in the family room when you get back.

**Sansa**: And you must be at the front of the pack when we surprise Margaery.

**Sansa**:This is your moment, big brother!!!

Robb rolled his eyes and sighed, replying with a middle finger emoji.If he had known that being the eldest would involve this much badgering from his siblings, he would have begged his parents to let him stay an only child. 

Flipping on the radio for at least 30 seconds of a distraction, he made the turn onto Winterfell Street. 

_______________

Margaery was on the last nail of her manicure when she heard a car approaching, tires scratching on the driveway’s gravel.Sansa perked up immediately.

“That’ll be Arya with the boys,”she grinned.“Marge, let’s go see them.”

Margaery blew lightly on her pinky finger.Her brows knitted, noticing a rather unusual energy from her fire-kissed friend. 

“Sansa…Did you plan something?”

She only heard a laugh in response.Margaery followed her downstairs, bewilderment on every step.Sansa jogged to the front yard, flagging down the car.Margaery waved as well, grass tickling her bare feet.

Robb got out of the passenger seat with a box in his hands.Gendry got out next, then Arya and Theon. All carrying small boxes. Margaery’s jaw dropped. 

“Sansa… what’s going on?”

Sansa merely grinned.“Did you think we were just going to let Joffrey keep your stuff?”

Margaery’s hands flew to her chest, one clasped over the other, as Robb walked over. She recognized the items lying in the box under his arm and she immediately pulled him into an embrace, wrists round his neck. 

She finds her nose buried in the bulk of his shoulder, and she only has a moment to process how good he smells — all woods and winter — before he chuckles, looping his free arm round her waist. 

“It was nothing, really.”

“Oh shush,” she beamed up at him.“I cannot thank you enough.”

Feeling bold, she presses a kiss to his cheek.Robb flushed, ducking his head.Theon let out a whistle.

“Do I get a kiss too, Margaery?” Arya’s tone was complete sarcasm, but she was grinning. Margaery smiled, ruffling Arya’s hair and offering gentler hugs to all the members of Robb’s motley crew. 

She heard a salvo of raucous barking as four of the six Stark malamutes bounded out of the garage.Each went to its respective person, but Margaery was surprised to see Grey Wind loping over to her, panting with a good-natured expression.He rubbed his shedding coat against her legs. 

“Oh, hello!” she knelt to scratch his ears.Grey Wind nosed her cheek and sat on his haunches. 

“Good boy,” Robb patted his head. “He likes posing, doesn’t he?”

“Posing?”Margaery asked, managing not to stutter.Her sketchbook, with more than one Grey Wind drawing in its pages,peeped at her accusingly from the top of the pile in the box. 

“He is a handsome boy,” she said in deflection, biting back the desire to add “_just like his owner_.”

“Aye, almost as bonny as Lady,” Robb teased, clicking his tongue to call Grey Wind to his side. 

Margaery looked over and noticed that everyone had stacked their boxes against her car except for Theon.Robb seemed to have noted that as well.

“Theon!” He called out.“What did you get from the house?”Theon came over to them and shrugged. 

“I just figured I’d be a general nuisance and take things that they could easily replace.So I got every roll of toilet paper I could find, and all the batteries from their remotes.Bit of hair gel, and a couple of lightbulbs.”He gave the box a little shake and then added, “I also reorganized part of their library by color.” 

Margaery’s gasp turned quickly into a laugh, and she muffled the sound with her hands.Robb grinned, clapping a hand on Theon’s back. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

Their chatter was disrupted by Catelyn Stark stepping out of the house, a dishrag folding in her hands. 

“Sansa! Are all of these people staying for dinner?” 

“They’re staying for a movie at least!” Sansa yelled back.“If we get hungry, I’ll make pancakes and add those potatoes we have in the pantry!”

“You will do no such thing, those potatoes are for Sunday’s supper with your aunt,”Catelyn said disapprovingly.She looked up at the sky for a moment and sighed.“I don’t have anything that will feed all of you and your friends, so I’ll order pizza.Come inside if you want anything other than cheese.”

Arya sprinted for the door, Nymeria at her heels.“PEPPERONI!” 

Sansa chased her, with Lady at her side.“Pepperoni is AWFUL, don’t listen to her Mum!”

Theon and Gendry followed them inside, chortling.Jon and Ghost went round to the back of the house.Margaery looked over to Robb, the empty lawn seeming to echo with silence.

“You don’t want to go in and fight with your sisters over pizza toppings?”She asked.He laughed. 

“No, I’ll eat anything.” His eyes fell on the box he was still carrying. 

“I’ll… uh, I’ll help you put these in your car.” 

“Right,” she cleared her throat and went over to her car, relieved that she had left it unlocked.She opened up a door to the backseat and lifted the first box.

“Wow,” she said, “I think you managed to get everything.” 

“Wasn’t that hard,” Robb put another box on the floor behind the driver’s seat, “In a house like the Lannisters', anything that looks like it belongs to someone with a soul sticks out pretty well.” 

Margaery laughed.“You wolves of Westeros are something else.” 

Her hand slipped on the last box and a few items spilled out.Robb reached in to help her pick them up, his chest brushing against her back. Margaery saw her color correcting palette in his hand, and she inhaled sharply. 

“I-I’ve got that,” she took it out of his hand and dropped it into the nearest box.Everything tidied, she straightened up from the backseat, Robb following suit.She shut the door with more force than necessary.Her car blocked them from the view of the neighbors, but anyone peering through any of the Den’s windows on the east side would see Margaery folding her arms over her chest, drawing inward. 

Robb furrowed his brows.

“What’s wrong, Margaery?”

She inhaled, shaking her head.

“I don’t know, I guess I had forgotten I had that makeup.”She bit the inside of her cheek and looked at him.His stance was open, eyes gazing with an intensity she’d never seen from anyone else. His head tilted a bit to the side, a puppy underneath his tough exterior. 

Margaery dropped her head and sighed.She’d held back from telling Sansa everything, but she wanted to tell Robb.Was it too soon?

“I forgot what I had used that makeup for,” she said quietly.Robb rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Arya explained to me, best she could.But I don’t think you should be ashamed of a hickey or two, I mean—”

“No,” Margaery shook her head, almost laughing.“It wasn’t for that, gods I wish.” 

Robb dropped his hand from his neck. Confusion returned to his face, underlined with worry.Margaery felt her heart leap up to her throat.She leaned against the car and stared at her hands. 

“About a month after we started dating, Joffrey would … little things would piss him off,” she explained.“And then he’d start yelling, usually at me.”

A tick appeared in Robb’s jaw.He nodded for her to continue.

“I got tired of that after a few weeks.I started to yell back, and he’d insult me even more.So I said that I was leaving him, and that really made him angry.So he’d —“Her voice caught in her throat. She ran her fingers over her wrist, phantom bruises haunting her. 

“He’d grab my wrists and grip them as hard as he could,”tears rose in her eyes, “to frighten me, so I’d stay.And he left marks so I just…,” she took a shuddering breath, “I just covered them up and didn’t say anything.” 

She finally looked back up at Robb.She had braced herself for pity, but there was none on his face.His eyes had become watery too, his breaths coming short as if grappling with grief and anger.He shook his head. 

“We should’ve been there for you,” he said.“Something didn’t feel right, whenever I saw you in the hallways with him. But I just assumed you were happy, that you wanted him.”

Margaery bit her lip.She held out her hand to grasp his.The heat made her shiver.Joffrey’s hands had always been cold, icy whenever he was in a rage.They didn’t warm her skin like the hand holding hers now. 

“I didn’t even tell Sansa,” she whispered.“There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

“That’s not true,” he said in a low voice,“But that doesn’t matter anymore, because you’re here, safe with us.And I’m not going to leave you just so I could go punch him in the face.” 

He took the smallest step forward with his arms open, and Margaery stepped into them again.He rocked them back and forth, holding her tightly and letting his head fall onto her shoulder, face in her hair.

“I’m always going to be here for you Margaery,” he whispered against her neck.“I promise.”

She nodded, feeling a rush of affection flood her heart.There was no making up for the months she had wasted away, pretending that Joffrey’s virtues outweighed his vices. 

But she could start over, right here, by telling this wonderful person holding her so tenderly in his arms that she loved him.This beautiful, wolf-hearted young man with blinding blue eyes and a voice that felt like a glowing hearth on a cold night. 

She pulled away just slightly to rest her temple against his cheek.She felt his breath hitch, and her own heart was sprinting. 

“Robb, I …”

“Yeah?” 

Before she could speak, a car with a broken muffler drove past the house, startling them apart. They stared at the distraction for a few moments, then back at each other.Margaery stuck her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, looking at the house. 

“I guess we should go inside?” 

“Yeah,” Robb smiled ruefully.“Mum’ll probably want me to go pick up the pizza, anyway.” 

They went inside, the last rays of the sun giving way to dusk.Margaery felt redness in her cheeks, seeing the bustle within the home, when all the while she had been standing barefoot in their front yard, five seconds away from kissing Robb Stark.

Olenna had always called her a hazard for spectacle. 

They turned into the kitchen, where Catelyn was hanging up the phone mounted on the wall.

“Robb, will you take Theon and go get the pizza?I have Bran and Rickon setting the table.”

“Aye Mum,” Robb nodded, and Margaery turned for the stairs leading to the second floor.Right before she took the last step out of the room, she saw Catelyn grab Robb’s jacket. 

“I got a phone call from your father, saying something about you and Arya frightening that Lannister boy…” she drew her lips into a thin line,“what should I tell him?”

Robb merely shrugged, his face a mask of perfected innocence.“Tell him… that Lannister boy’s throwing a party tomorrow night, and there’ll probably be underaged drinking, as far as I know.”

Catelyn shut her eyes and took a long breath, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.Robb made haste to the door. Margaery shook her head, wondering if she would ever fully understand them.

Walking up the stairs, she nearly collided with Arya on the landing. 

“Arya,” Margaery caught her attention. “Thank you so much for what you did today,” she said, withholding her question of how Arya had managed to scare Joffrey. 

Arya shrugged.“It was nothing, seemed like it’d be a fun time.” 

Margaery laughed softly.“Well, it meant a lot to me, especially since I know you didn’t like me for going out with Joffrey in the first place.”

Arya gave her a small smile.“You dumped him, and Robb really likes you.That’s enough for me.” 

Margaery grinned as they parted, Arya sliding down the bannister and herself taking the remaining steps two at a time. 

She decided to change into her pajamas early, as she saw Sansa walking out of the bathroom in a blue robe with a towel round her hair.She had brought her favorite set, with delicate roses printed across the shirt and pants.She then brushed her hair with a bit of water and dry shampoo till it shone like silk and plaited it.By that point, the collective shouts from downstairs told her that the Den party was commencing. 

Dinner was lively, so unlike the stiff meals she had with her parents and brothers, Olenna typically monopolizing the conversation.Each Stark was given a turn to talk about their day, and Catelyn even asked her, Gendry and Theon about their plans for the summer.Ned Stark came home before they had finished, and was welcomed with a chorus of glee from his children, several of them leaving the table to hug him. 

After plates had been washed and boxes recycled, Robb and Sansa herded everyone into the family room downstairs.Margaery wrapped a blanket round her shoulders, grinning as she descended into the heart of the Den.The dog scent was definitely strongest here, as all of the malamutes were laying in various positions around the two sectional couches. But Margaery loved the sheer lived-in feeling of the room, from the outdated wood paneling to the even more outdated shag carpet.

“What should we watch?” Robb asked. He sported a grey t-shirt and pajama pants covered in snowflakes.Several voices rang out, ensuing to an argument between Star Wars and the Avengers.He looked over to Margaery.

“Any preference?” 

She shook her head, settling into a corner of the couch.Robb offered a compromise with Pacific Rim, and everyone fell silent in agreement.The lights dimmed, and Margaery moved her feet to let Rickon lay belly down on the cushion in front of her.She felt the seat dip beside her, and looked over to see Robb settle in next to her.Blushing slightly, she leaned forward so he could rest his arm on the top of the couch.

For the first half of the movie, everyone watched with rapt attention.Then Margaery’s eyes started fluttering; the action blurred until she was half asleep, the music faintly seeping through her senses.Robb nudged her awake twice, each time shifting a little closer. Rickon fell asleep and Bran carried him upstairs, never coming back down. Gendry got a message on his phone and quietly announced that he was leaving.Arya sat up when he had gone upstairs and followed.Robb’s chest shook with a chuckle, and his siblings laughed as well.

“I’m guessing Arya has a bit of a crush on Gendry?” Margaery murmured.Robb smiled. 

“Aye, and she thinks she’s hiding it well.”

Grey Wind sat up from his spot in front of the television and clambered onto the empty cushion where Rickon had been. 

“Is he allowed up on the furniture?” She asked,Robb shook his head.

“I let him whenever Mum’s not down here,” he said.Margaery leaned forward to pet Grey Wind, feeling his tail thump against her leg.Feeling content, she settled back and rested her head on Robb’s chest. 

By that point, Sansa was losing interest in the movie.She rose up from the other couch and crossed behind them. 

“Night, Marge,” she put her hand on the back of the couch. 

“Good night, Sansa,” Margaery found her hand and squeezed it lightly. Sansa leaned in to whisper.

“Are you coming up soon?”

Margaery looked at Robb dozing next to her.

“Not sure yet,” she said quietly.Sansa merely smiled and tiptoed up the stairs.

At that point, enough room on the couch had been freed for Robb to lie down, one arm tucked behind his head, the other still lingering on Margaery’s waist.She shut her eyes, hearing the film’s score soar during the final moments. The screen cut to black.Jon and Theon left like shadows, not making a word.

As the credits started to roll, Margaery reclined to face Robb, leaning on her forearm.The couch was just wide enough for both of them, though he tightened his hold on her waist to keep her from slipping.He seemed even handsomer, half asleep in the flickering light of the screen.Hair falling over his brow, lines eased with rest, too many eyelashes for her to count. 

“Robb?” she whispered, putting her hand tentatively on his shoulder.He exhaled, not opening his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“It’s getting late, are you going back upstairs?”She asked.He shook his head.

“My bed needs a new mattress, here’s more comfortable,”his voice was scratchy with fatigue.Margaery wasn’t sure if it was his rough voice or the mention of his bed, but she felt her cheeks flush.

“You should go upstairs, I’ll be fine down here,” he continued, his brows furrowing ever so slightly. 

“What if I don’t want to?”Margaery said under her breath. “Not just yet?”

Robb opened his eyes, icy blue in the dying light of the television.Then the screen shut off, and they were covered in darkness.

“You do?” 

Margaery nodded, tucking her arm under her head.They were completely alone, no light save for the dim kitchen lamp from above the staircase. No reason for whispering, and yet intimacy begged them for it. 

“I heard that you’re no longer with the Frey girl,” she admitted, heart pounding in her chest.Robb sighed, his hand that had loosely hung over the side of the couch now flattened to the small of her back.His warmth seeped through her pajamas like they were made of silk. 

“I broke up with her. Haven’t thought about her in ages.” 

“Why?”Margaery shut her eyes, though she couldn’t see him anyway.

“Why did I break up with her, or why haven’t I thought about her?”

She didn’t hold back.

“I’m sure both have the same reason.” 

Seconds passed until he finally spoke. 

“A reason which I hope was one of yours when you ended it with Joffrey,” he breathed out, “I was in love with someone else.” He pulled her closer, her chest brushing against his.“And I’m still in love.” 

She felt her lungs burn from lack of breath.She reached in the darkness and found his cheek, smooth at the top and then rough with his scruffy start of a beard. 

“I had my reasons,” she murmured, “and you were one of them.” 

She leaned in, and before she could take another breath, Robb pressed his lips to hers.They were softer than she imagined, as was the kiss itself.She deepened it, lacing her other arm around his shoulders.His hand traced up her back, finding the end of her braid and slipping the band free.As her tresses unraveled, he caressed them like no one else had ever done before.She leaned into his touch with a contented sigh.

“Am I dreaming?” Robb asked, breath tickling her nose.“Can it be real if I’ve wanted this for so long?” 

Margaery laughed, and as her nose scrunched with a giggle, she nuzzled it against Robb’s. 

“This is real,” she said, kissing him again.There was passion there for sure, a spark which would burst into flame if properly spurred.But mostly it was a kiss of reassurance, of a beginning that both of them were eager and nervous for. 

She pressed one tiny peck to his cheek and then cuddled into his side, letting him wrap both arms firmly around her. One of his hands snuck under her pajama top and found her thin shirt underneath riding up as well. When his fingertips rested on her bare skin, it sent a thrill up her spine.She clenched her thighs, telling herself that they had all the time in the world, and getting to second base or further in the Starks’ family room was a bit overzealous.So she fell asleep with her cheek on his chest and his face nestled in her hair. 

They might wake up with pins and needles in half their limbs, but it mattered not.For certain, they would wake up to the rallying barks of half a dozen double-coated beasts, hours earlier than they ought to have woken up.Untangling from each other and stretching, they would blush, adjust their clothes, and make plans for the movies later. Somewhere they wouldn’t be hounded by actual hounds and the handful of siblings who knew that they hadn’t gone to separate bedrooms last night.And Robb would press a kiss to her cheek just before they went upstairs. 

But for now, they just slept.And at a quarter to midnight, Catelyn Stark made her motherly rounds, checking on every child and guest.She descended into the family room, barely surprised to find a dog on her furniture and her eldest son curled around the young lady who had always been kind and courteous to their family. 

Shooing Grey Wind off the couch, she put a blanket over both of them. 

_If you had to fall into a girl’s arms_,_my son_, Catelyn thought, _I’m glad they were Margaery Tyrell’s_.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into writing Robbaery! 
> 
> I liked adapting the premise of this fic so much. The Starks have a strong hold on my heart and I hope that I gave all of them a good voice in this story. Robb and Margaery's scenes were actually the most difficult, so I look forward to writing more of them and figuring out how they would bounce off on another! 
> 
> Everyone goes to the same high school, so ages for reference: 
> 
> Ages, for reference: 
> 
> Arya - 14 (skipped a grade)  
Gendry - 16  
Sansa - 16  
Joffrey - 16  
Theon - 17  
Margaery - 17  
Robb - 18  
Jon - 18 
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


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